This autumn, the Courtauld Gallery will present Monet and London: Views of the Thames, an exhibition of paintings created by Claude Monet during his visits to London between 1899 and 1901. This is the first exhibition in the UK dedicated to these works, fulfilling the artist’s dream of showing them in London. The exhibition will open on 27 September 2024 and run until 19 January 2025 at the Savoy Hotel, just 300 metres from where Monet created these works.
Monet’s most famous paintings come from his time in the French countryside. However, in recent years, his London series has gained increasing attention. Monet’s paintings of the Thames and London skyscrapers, including famous sights such as Waterloo Bridge, Charing Cross Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, are depicted at different times of the day, showing the city’s changing light and atmosphere in typical Impressionist style.
In 1904, Monet exhibited 37 of these works at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris. He had planned to exhibit the paintings the following year, but postponed the exhibition at the last minute because he felt the works were not ready. Now, 120 years later, 19 of the 37 original paintings are to be shown to the public.
Many of these works highlight the painting’s growing historical significance Parliament, sunset (1900–03) sold for $76 million at Christie’s in 2022, shattering its $60 million high estimate. The work was one of the original works on display in Paris and will be on view at the Courtauld Gallery this fall.
